IT hardly ranks alongside the Great Train Robbery, but snowdrop rustling is the latest way for opportunist thieves to make a fast buck, writes Richard Abbott.

While villagers sleep at night, rustlers are clearing their churchyards and woods of wild flowers and selling them to unscrupulous garden centres for up to 20p each.

Only three weeks ago, two bulb thieves were jailed for taking 300,000 bulbs, worth £60,000, from a wood in Hertfordshire. It is believed to be the first prison sentence handed out in Britain for wild plant crime.

Now landowners in Oxfordshire are being warned to be on their guard as snowdrops and bluebells reach full bloom. Police are also launching a crackdown on rustlers. The annual Snowdrop Sunday event takes place at 12th Century St Botolph's Church, Swyncombe, near Watlington, on Sunday. Churchgoer and event organiser John Sennett said he was concerned about bulb rustlers but theft from churches was nothing new.

"It was surprising to hear about flowers being stolen like this. When bulbs are taken like this it can affect the whole environment of a woodland. The effects can be very damaging. We have never had a problem here but there is always going to be a trade-off when people visit places like this.

"I've heard of antiques and statues going missing from churches. I suppose bulbs fall into the same category." It is an offence under the Wildlife and Countryside Act to dig up any wild plant without permission from the owner of the land. Penalties may be increased in the Countryside Bill which is currently passing through Parliament.

A national intelligence package is being sent to police wildlife liaison officers across the country, giving names and details of suspects.

WPc Sheila Wright, wildlife officer for Thames Valley Police, said bulb rustling did occur but remained difficult to detect. We don't seem to have a problem in Oxfordshire but that's not to say it doesn't happen. "It can be devastating for the environment if people are digging like this," she said.

"I imagine most end up being sold at car boot sales or by the side of the road."

*Snowdrop Sunday starts at 2.45pm on Sunday. Entertainment includes live bands and morris dancing.

Story date: Tuesday 08 February

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.